During this coronavirus outbreak, most states have closed non-essential businesses and issued stay-at-home orders. An unfortunate result for businesses is the risk of losing customers. Now more than ever it’s more important to keep in front of customers in ways other than an open door. Here are some options for staying in touch and keeping your business at the front of their minds.

1. Social Media – Be active on Social Media. This may include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.. Post photos of your products, yourself, your store, both inside and out. Share good news, whether it’s business or personal. While you may not have photos of current projects, try recycling ones from years past. Use those that garnered a lot of feedback when first posted.
2. Share Your Expertise – Face it, you’re an expert in your field. Otherwise you wouldn’t be in business. Share that expertise with your customers. What advice can you give them that will bring a sense of normalcy? Perhaps it’s tips on how to eat healthy, how to exercise at home, or how to clean out that junk drawer. Your clients are hungry for content now that they’re home and on the internet more than ever.
3. Partner with Other Businesses – In any business, there are others that can complement yours. For example, a chiropractor’s office can partner with a health food store or a yoga studio. A travel agency can partner with a wedding planner. Use them to your advantage. Partner up and share posts or hold a webinar. You will both be exposed to larger audiences, and gain more customers in the end.
4. Reward Loyal Customers – If you want to keep customers, give them some reward above and beyond the product or services they purchase. For example, many stores have loyalty cards for something free after a specified number of purchases. But what if you offered a free 30-minute personal coaching session for anyone who shares information about your workshops on their Facebook page or on Twitter? Sure, you’re giving away your service, but you guarantee that client will be back once you open your doors again so they can ach in on their free gift.
5. Digitize Your Business – If you’re a brick and mortar store, now is the time to get online! Start with a Facebook page. It’s free! Build a website. Start selling online. Start teaching online. You can teach classes through free tools like Zoom. Or record and upload podcasts. Sell subscriptions to your podcast channel for special content that isn’t available to the public.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by all this? Don’t be!  You don’t have to know how to do all this yourself. Hire a Virtual Assistant to help. www.virtual-liaisons.com